Why Fast?

DaisyDuke 2 said:

So, can anyone tell me what people are referring to? In one scenario the person hadn’t eaten for 48 hours.. why would you do this??

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Most probably trying to shed a couple of kilograms, and lower their bgl.

There are many members who see great benefits in Fasting or Intermittent Fasting, that is why they do it.

You might want to read the fast diet by Dr Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer.

Basically fasting will deplete our glycogen store and normalize insulin levels. This allows it to access our fats store.

In other words the overall effect is that blood glucose/insulin levels normalize and we start burning fats naturally.

But those on medication has to consider if the medication will drive glucose levels too low. Check on Dr Jason Fung's site or videos.
https://idmprogram.com/videos/

DaisyDuke 2 said:

Oh I see, so when you reach your goal weight you go back to eating normally?

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Some people have success with one meal a day and consider that a normal way of eating to keep BG under control and decrease insulin resistance.
I only eat lunch and dinner. So I fast for 16-18 hours a day. That is normal for me.

Hotpepper20000 said:

Some people have success with one meal a day and consider that a normal way of eating to keep BG under control and decrease insulin resistance.
I only eat lunch and dinner. So I fast for 16-18 hours a day. That is normal for me.

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I must add that one meal a day or fasting for 16 hours a day is not just about weight loss.

DaisyDuke 2 said:

Oh I see, so when you reach your goal weight you go back to eating normally?

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Fasting has many benefits.
Firstly you get no insulin signals when fasting so levels can lower and pancreas gets a bit of a rest from constant production.
This then causes liver to empty of glucose stores and eventually blood sugar to lower.
You get into ketosis so start burning stored fat for energy which along with no food intake is what basically starts weight loss
It may also trigger autophagy where the body starts to repair itself by recycling old cells and dumping out what it no longer needs.. This is probably what people refer to as a detox except that this really is one!
It also allows for people with food addiction/compulsion problems a glimpse at what more ordered eating really looks like rather than the habitual feeding that we engage in most of the time. It also allows you to feel "real" hunger rather than the "oh I haven't eaten anything for 30 minutes lets have something".
So multiple benefits I'm currently on a drink and egg fast. For 95 hours just had coffee with cream and tea with lactofree milk and have just introduced 4 poached eggs with 20g of butter for the past 2 nights.
I have a thread on it here
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/fasting-7-days-probably.158129/
if you'd like to follow..

DaisyDuke 2 said:

Oh I see, so when you reach your goal weight you go back to eating normally?

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Yes. But eating "normally" varies among individuals.

There's actually 2 phases for fasting. The fasting phase to reach and maintain the desired state of ketosis and autophagy. And the refeeding stage to allow proper rebuilding of the immune system. For this you can look into Dr Valter Longo's research...which resulted in a 5 day fasting mimicking diet
https://prolonfmd.com/

DaisyDuke 2 said:

I don’t want or need to lose anymore weight having lost 3 stone already and


All sounds great if you want to lose weight, but having already lost just over 3 stone I don’t want or need to lose anymore.

In fact I could do with putting it on, but that’s harder said than done.

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It has a lot more benefits than weight loss but yes you probably would lose a bit more if you extended fasted.. intermittent could be helpful though if you wan to get your blood sugars down. Skip one meal and just eat more for the other 2?

Humans have been intermittent fasting for three million years. The idea that it’s somehow abnormal is a societal one.

Personally I’m usually two meals per day with a 48h fast once per month. I’m very far from overweight but I do it because I like it and it purges my body of glucose.

bulkbiker said:

It has a lot more benefits than weight loss but yes you probably would lose a bit more if you extended fasted.. intermittent could be helpful though if you wan to get your blood sugars down. Skip one meal and just eat more for the other 2?

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This is what I've been doing for the past couple of years and my weight is stable. It also helps a lot with overnight reflux. I sleep much better without eating at night.

I intermittent fast by default, Don't usually eat breakfast, so go from around 8pm to about 1:30pm with no food, but if I'm hungry I eat

lessci said:

I intermittent fast by default, Don't usually eat breakfast, so go from around 8pm to about 1:30pm with no food, but if I'm hungry I eat

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And there in lies the silver bullet. Only eat when you’re hungry. This is also my strategy. The endocrine system is incredibly smart, and it will tell you when you need to eat. Let nature do the talking and you won’t go wrong

If it is within your bodies scope to reverse Type 2, nothing can get you there faster than extended fasting, the ultimate reversal tool. I have said before given my time over from diagnosis, I would love to have done a 21 - 28 day supervised water fast (in Germany or Russia) and re-feed. This method would have suited my demeanour, but would not be for everyone, as it is extreme....but the results for someone like me with an initial HbA1c of 134 would have been astonishing. The initial equivalent of going cold turkey would have been a nightmare, but I was already all over the place and feeling really ill, so it would have been part of the package of pain. I can only imagine what the draining of sugar away from my body would have felt like at 5, 10 and 15 days, the ability to sleep and not wee every so often, the weight loss (for me maintaining over 10 kg has reversed the diabetes numbers / complications). How I wish I had this knowledge back then.

I think the order of prevalence to reverse / get Type 2 under control looks like this fast track:

1. Extended Fasting (make sure this is fully researched before embarking on)
2. Keto / Intermittent Fasting / Exercise
3. Keto / Exercise
4. LCHF or LCHP or Low Calorie /Intermittent Fasting / Exercise
5. LCHF or LCHP or Low Calorie /Exercise
6. LCHF or LCHP or Low Calorie

The reverse of the above I would suggest is a methodology for an "ease you into it", just as valid approach and probably the majority method, which seems to end up for many between 2 and 4. If you are the type who lacks patience (that's me) you would want an explanation of the pros and cons of all options.

I fast for both lower blood sugar and weight loss. As a diet only Type 2 who's never taken any medication, I find it's a very helpful tool.

I think it is easier if you've been eating low carb for a while (hunger decreases after you've been eating low carb for a while.) . The first thing I'd do is cut out snacking. (The less often you eat, the less insulin your body produces.) Then I'd start with intermittent fasting 16/8 (missing breakfast) before considering longer fasting periods.

Initially I found that if I did intermittent fasting (usually by missing breakfast 16/8) more than 2-3 days in row, my GERD ( Gastroesophagal reflux disease) would act up. However, that is no longer the case, probably due to the amount of weight I've lost (66 lbs) putting less pressure on my stomach valve. I often don't eat breakfast & sometimes only eat once per day. My hunger has really decreased and I don't eat when I'm not hungry.

When I see my blood glucose starting to trend up, fasting seems to reset it. I do 1-2 days fasting to lower my level. (I check my blood glucose if I think I'm might be getting too low although I've never been hypoglycemic when fasting. I stop if it's gets close to 4.0)

The best source of information is Dr. Jason Fung who uses fasting with Type 2s and weight loss and goes into detail in his books (and has even written a book about fasting.)